Texas Public Radio celebrates the season this month with programming to get you into the spirit.
On KPAC 88.3 FM, holiday music will be broadcast throughout the day on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Beginning at 9 a.m. on KPAC 88.3 FM, we'll broadcast "A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols" live from England. The annual Christmas Eve service held in King's College Chapel was introduced in 1918 to bring a more imaginative approach to worship. It was first broadcast in 1928 and is now broadcast to millions of people around the world.
The service includes carols and readings from the Bible. The opening carol is always 'Once in Royal David's City,' and there is always a new, specially commissioned carol.
Following that broadcast, at 11 a.m. KPAC presents the "St. Olaf Christmas Festival," a service in song and word that has become one of the nation’s most cherished holiday celebrations. Tickets to the event - which takes place at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN - are always gone months in advance. The festival includes hymns, carols, choral works, as well as orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity and featuring more than 500 student musicians in five choirs and the St. Olaf Orchestra.
At 7 p.m., KPAC's regularly scheduled "Performance Saturday" broadcast features the 2016 Trinity University Christmas Concert, featuring the Trinity Symphony Orchestra, Handbell Ensemble, Symphonic Winds, and scores of student musicians. Also on the program will be excerpts from the Mid-Texas Symphony and San Antonio Brass holiday concerts.
On KSTX 89.1 FM, tune in on Christmas Eve at 8 p.m. as Deirdre Saravia presents "An Irish Christmas." Then at 11 p.m., it's TPR's most unusual holiday tradition... Peabo the rooster, TPR's unofficial mascot, hosts his annual program of music and merriment as we count down to Santa's arrival at midnight with the help of Nathan Cone and David Furst. This year, Peabo comes to Santa's rescue in "The Night Peabo Saved Christmas: Part Two!"